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Northpoint
Northpoint You are human. Not many of your kind here in the Mystic East. Watch your path. We are strong warriors here. Not long have we been in this realm, but we know its steel well. This world and the fae world are close in this place, as in Ashtar. Our ancestors call us and guide us from that world. We will join them soon. As you will join yours if you bring human-troubles to our lands. Summary The Kingdom of Northpoint is a Fae-controlled nation of great evergreen forests in the northeastern tip of the Mainland, isolated by both its geography, and by the desires of the people there. The land is controlled by a race of faerie-kin called Mur-ain, who are proud, stoic fae-warriors, and whom can trace their decedents back directly into the Faerie Realm. The culture in Northpoint is bizarre, by human standards, and this land contains several places where one can cross from this world into the Faerie Realm with ease (but coming back is less guaranteed). The nation was once the leader of a powerful triple-alliance of faerie-kin people, but civil war and military defeat at the hands of the Parthian Empire pushed them back into the depths of their forests, and they remain isolated and secretive to this day. Geography Located principally in a slight peninsula on the north-eastern tip of the Mainland, and jutting out into the sea, Northpoint is warmed by ocean currents, and soaked with rainfall that cannot get past Kharos and Haas mountains to its west and south. The result is a land that is surprisingly green, wet, and warm for its northern location. Heavy snowfall occurs during the depths of winter, but the cold season does not last as long as in the north-central Mainlund, and is relatively mild. The great Shuul river flows down from the Kharos Mountains through Northpoint, and out into the Nuuaasht sea. Northpoint itself is mostly evergreen forests of spruce and pine, usually sitting upon rocky ledges and hills, but with no real mountains to speak of. Racial Distribution The principle people of Northpoint are the fierce Mur-ain, who make up roughly 60% of the population. About 5% of the population are Redcaps. Much like within the Forests of Ashtar, they are also open to the non-faerie races of Sidhe Elves (10%) and Halflings (10%), but also contain a large number (15%) of less-common races, like the Tyrazyne of the Gray Coast, who sail up the coastline to trade there, along with assorted faerie-kin (boggans, spriggans fae-trolls, etc) not found in any sizable group anywhere else. As such, the rare human or dwarven travelers in this land often encounter beings whom they have never seen nor heard of before. History The Mur-ain came from the Land of the Fae to dwell in the area of Northpoint far back during the Ancient Era of the land, along with their Redcap fae-cousins. The area of Northpoint was previously populated mostly by primitive scattered human tribes and bands of marauding orcs & gnolls and the Mur-ain succeeded in displacing the humans entirely by the late Barbarian Era, and pushing back the demi-human hordes into the foothills of the Haas Mountain Range and the Kharos valley. During this expansionist period, virtually all non-faerie-kin beings were displaced from Northpoint (and Ashtar, by the Redcaps), and the entirety of Ashtar, Northpoint, Daegon and the Kharos Valley came to be known as "The Mystic East", a place where men and dwarves feared to tread. However, the dominant fae alliance of the Mur-ain with the Redcaps (and the now-extinct fae race called Chambhlis) was eventually weakened and ultimately crushed by two events: a civil war among the Mur-ain, and a brutal military assault from the early Parthian Empire of humans. At the height of their power, the Mur-ain people of Northpoint were ruled by the ancient Nuual Dynasty, a royal family that had been in power since before the Mur-ain left the faerie realm to come to the Mainlund. This family was known for its quickness to jump to war, with both non-fae enemies and their own cousins alike, and was the default leadership of the entire fae alliance of Mur-ain, Redcaps, and Chamblis The Nuual line over time grew more and more vicious, ambitious, and paranoid, and did not tolerate even the slightest challenge to the direction they were setting for their people. Their vision was to build up an army of fae strong enough to storm the dwarvin stronghold inside the depths of Kharos Mountains, as well as eventually pushing south into the Footlands. The plan to attack Kharos was temporarily disrupted when the seemingly small-numbered and peaceful Arachnid people launched a surprise coup de'tate and displaced the complacent Kharos dwarves from the mountains before the Nuual Dynasty could attempt it themselves. Around this time, a faction of the royal family of the fae, later to be called the "Nyr'Obe", staged a revolt inside Northpoint, much to the surprise of the Nuual leadership. The Nyr'Obe group wanted an end to the displacement of non-fae in the region (although they were effectively too late to stop it) and a halt to any aggressive military campaigns against their neighbors. While at first they appeared totally out-matched by the resources of the Nuual family, popular support for the Nyr'Obe gained traction, and within a few months, a full-scale civil war had broken out in Northpoint. The Nuual strongholds were in the traditional mid-to-large sized cities within the land, where the Nyr'Obe had more support in the rural areas and among the common people. The war hit a stalemate fairly quickly, where any conflicts fought near the cities would be won by the Nuual, and any fought as skirmishes out in the country-side were won by the Nyr'Obe faction. Over the course of 2 years, attrition slowly wore down the Nuual, to the point where they were greatly weakened, and the leadership of the group eventually were all killed, or migrated back into the bizarre faerie homeland, never to be seen again in this world. The joys of the Nyr'Obe victory were short lived. Their plan for peace with their neighbors had come too late, and the powerful empire of men known as the Parthians had consolidated all the major human groups of the north and central Mainlund, and launched a brutal, swift military campaign against the fae groups that had displaced all men from the east. The Parthians completely crushed the now-peaceable Chambhlis fae-kin who had established homes in the hills west of the Kharos Mountains, and pushed the Mur-ain back well east of the Kharos range, to mostly the peninsula that juts out from the far north-east corner of the Mainlund. They also pushed the Redcaps deep into the Forests of Ashtar, and were within a few months of crushing those people completely as well, but (fortunately for the Redcaps) needed to turn back to domestic matters at the last moment. For many generations, the Mur-ain people in Northpoint were embittered by this defeat. Their warrior pride was wounded by the total human routing and dismantling of their burgeoning empire, and they also felt as if their last minute push for peace was ignored by the aggressive, expansionist humans of Partha. This led to Northpoint being very isolated, and did not even entertain diplomatic envoys from non-fae people until fairly recent times. Politics & National Relations Having just barely emerged from their isolationist period in the current Federation Era, Northpoint still remains on chilly terms with most of the other nations in the land. They have historical bonds with Ashtar, but don't find the Redcaps to be very dependable allies, given their shifting "Seelie vs Unseelie nature. They have never had quarrel with the equally reclusive Ikiro Halflings of the Mist Mountains, and occasionally trade with these people. Likewise, they have cool, but peaceable relations with the Arachnid Kingdom under the Kharos Mountains, although this relationship is coming under strain as the Arachnids seek to push settlers out further into the Kharos Valley, which the Mur-ain would like to see returned to their influence. Historically, during the height of Northpoint's power, Mur-ain warriors were known to capture Arachnid merchants who traveled too far outside the security of their mountain range, and actually cook and eat these unfortunate creatures. This practice has not occurred in many hundred years, but the Arachnids will probably never fully trust the fae warriors of this land because of this history. The Northpoint Nation is still ruled by a Mur-Ain King from the Nyr Obe Monarchy. Since this government has traditionally been very passive, there is not much politicization in times of peace, and there is no need for separate states within the territory. King Nimbus currently reigns in the land and is well likes by the citizens of the land for his tendency to leave local matters alone. There are 5 city-states in the country, with about 20 towns and 35-45 smaller villages. North Point City lies on the northern coast of the peninsula. Nestled against the Umber Sea, it is a racially mixed town of mur-ain, chambliss ikiro, marox sylvan elf, and occasional Tyrazyne travelers. The border city of Scala lies at the west end of the territory and is a major trading post with the Arachnid merchants from Kharos. Fyn shal is a large city located in the southern part of the country that has good relations with the Ikiro of Mist Mts., and holds a small population of Forest Trolls, an agreeable, civilized, fae-version of the murderous troll race. Khalesh'e is the capital city of the nation, and houses the royal family along with the country's educational and religious centers. Hun-dune is the smallest city state, settled in the heart of the agricultural center of the land, and produces a large portion of the food eaten by the nation. Culture & Customs The pottery produced by artisans of this land is regarded as the finest in the world, and comes in a variety of colors, textures and styles. The mur-ain also work with paper products with great skill, and parchment documents, scrolls, and posters are common in this land even when they are rare in royal households elsewhere in the world. The skill of heraldry is widely practiced, and the various factions and families will each have specific symbols and characters they use in their family crests. One flag can contain several paragraphs of information to the trained eye. The foods of the land include squash, cantaloupe, palmetto leaves, ginger, and bamboo shoots. Meat is consumed on special occasions or in rituals, and the animals hunted in the land include yshims (large, flightless birds), tree eels, wild dogs, horses or mules, and muny'ids (large woolly rodents). Insects make up a somewhat distinct portion of the land's diet. Large version of ants, grubs, scorpions, spiders, beetles and roaches are all roasted and consumed. Along the coastal region octopus, squid, shrimp, crab and jellyfish can be found in the cook-pot Traditional holiday foods include caterpillars, worms, honey, and wasp paste. Another staple of the northern part of the land is black bean paste, which is bean solid separated from the liquid, and formed into squares like tofu. In the city of Fyn Shal, the mur-ain children spend all day collecting white-wasp combs for the holiday of “ Daiko Gyt.” These nests contain a paste made by the wasps to feed their larva. The paste is gathered, and made into cakes and cookies, which the children will present to their favorite adults. The whole day centers on the young mur-ain, and the adults will spend the whole afternoon helping them create their treats. Each house holds a feast of smoked eel or fish after the gifts are given. This day traditionally occurs in the early spring. The fae populations of Northpoint brought the holiday of "High Shade's Eve" with them into the area, and the mur-ain have adopted it as well. All manner of spooks and ghouls are revered on this night in the late fall, and the land does seem to be particularly active with faerie or ethereal beings at this time of year. These beings plague households and farms with pranks and tricks, like spoiling the milk or setting the dog's tail on fire. Most folk stay indoors after dark, with only foolhardy adventurers or bold youth braving the wilderness. Each household will leave an offering on their doorstep to appease the spirits. This can be a bowl of fresh blood, a loaf of sand-filled bread, or even rotten fruit, depending on the traditions of the area. The chambhlis seem to take the holiday a little less seriously than their mur-ain neighbors, who aren't above actually challenging and fighting particularly troublesome spirits. The cam bliss seem to enjoy the mischief, and even try to incite the spirits into more activity. Famous Figures & Groups Tusk Burn claw is one of the most successful Orc Scorchers in the known world. His pack of orcs travel from southern Northpoint to the Mist Mountains without fear, and have plagued communities in the Kharos Mountains and as far east as Garmond. Burn claw is a vicious killer, and commands a legion of 75-100 orcs at any time. He rides into battle on a large, red furred worg called "Bloodfang," and his men are experts at mounted combat from the backs of worgs or dire wolves. Burnclaw was responsible for the death of the famous Paladin Viorzy Zitzehn, who was tied to a tree naked and disemboweled by orcish boars while Tusk and his men raped several female priests in front of the Knight. He is currently being tracked by Krontosh of Whistlewater, a hero from Northpoint, and is also pursued by several other Vhendragian Knights from Bhesina. Religion Since the history of the Mainlund has been recorded, this has always been a home to mystical creatures, and the present residents have little use for the gods of mortal men. The Mur-ain do not look to the heavens for inspiration, they instead look to their glorious past. The official term for their philosophy is Myn Ti, and it involves complex rituals to pay homage to fallen ancestors and heroes. There are no churches, only shrines erected either by the state for national heroes, or by private families honoring their forefathers. State shrines are reserved for the greatest national heroes, and often require several monks to keep them in good order, as they receive pilgrims from across the country coming to pay respect to the old legends. Schools and libraries often arise close to shrines, and monks are highly honored by the society, regardless of their status before they joined the order. It is not uncommon for a pilgrim to a shrine to experience visions or have conversations with ghosts around the holy site. Such encounters usually lead to the pilgrim undertaking some quest or mission, and wars have been started in the past because of a spirit's advice.